HAMDITABLIGH.NET - SLEEPING MANNERS

it is not allowed for male children, if they have reached the age of puberty or are ten years old or more, to sleepwith their mothers or sisters in the same bedding or mattress. This safeguards chastity and keeps the person away from temptation. It also closes the door to evil. The Prophet (peace be upon him) ordered that the children be separated intheir bedding when they reach the age of ten. He said, "Order your children to pray when they are seven years old. And spank them [to exhort them] to do it by the age of tenand separate them in their bedding."

Those who are not approaching the age of puberty still must ask permission to enter upon their parents at three timesduring the day. These are the times in which one is more likely to be taking off his clothing and exposing the parts that are usually covered. This has been stressed by them being called times of privacy. Allah says in the Quran,

"O you who believe! Let your slaves and those among you who have not come to the age of puberty ask permission[before they come to your presence] on three occasions: before morning prayer, and while you put off your clothes for thenoonday [rest] and after the Isha [Night] Prayer. [These] three times are times of privacy for you. Other than those times there is no sin for you or for them to move about, attending to each other. Thus Allah makes clear His signs to you. AndAllah is All-Knowing, All-Wise" (al-Nur 58).

However, those who are past the age of puberty must seek permission to enter at all times of the day.As for the child who is less than ten years old, it is permissible for him to sleep with his mother and sister in their bedding if there is some need to look after him and if there is no fear of temptation. They may also all sleep in the same area, in their own bedding, if they are of the age of puberty if there is no fear of temptation.

1.Dreams that disturb a person and keep him awake come from the Shaytaan. In general, the dreams that people see are either good dreams which come from Allaah, a reflection of things which a person is thinking about, or a third type, which are dreams that come from the Shaytaan.

It was reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Towards the end of time, hardly any dreams that the Muslim sees will not come true. The one whose dreams are the most truthful will be the one whose speech is the most honest. The dreams of the Muslim form one of the forty-five parts of Prophecy. Dreams are of three types: the good dream which is good news from Allaah; dreams which cause distress, which come from the Shaytaan; and dreams concerning matters which a person is thinking about…” (Narrated by Muslim, 2263)

2. The Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us how to rid ourselves of the influence of Shaytaan during sleep. This can be achieved by reciting verses from the Qur’aan and du’aa’s narrated from him, before going to sleep. It was reported that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) put me in charge of guarding the zakaah of Ramadaan. Someone came and started to scatter the food. I took hold of him and said, ‘I will take you to the Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).’… He said, ‘When you go to bed, recite Aayat al-Kursi and you will be protected by Allaah, and no shaytaan (devil) will come near you until morning.’ The Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘He told you the truth even though he is a liar. That was a shaytaan.’” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3101).

(b) It was reported that Abu Mas’ood al-Badri (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘The last two aayahs of Soorat al-Baqarah – whoever recites them at night, they will be sufficient for him.’” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3786; Muslim, 807).

Al-Nawawi said: “Concerning the phrase, ‘The last two aayahs of Soorat al-Baqarah – whoever recites them at night, they will be sufficient for him’, it was said that it means, they will be sufficient for him instead of praying qiyaam al-layl, or as protection from Shaytaan, or as protection from vermin. It could mean all of these things.” (Sharh Muslim, 6/91, 92).

The Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also taught us what to do when someone sees something unpleasant in a dream and wakes up as a result. That is: to spit drily to the left, to seek refuge with Allaah from the Shaytaan, to change the side on which one was sleeping, and to pray if one wishes.

(a) It was reported that Abu Qutaadah said: “The Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Good dreams come from Allaah and bad dreams come from the Shaytaan. If any one of you sees a bad dream which makes him afraid, let him spit drily to his left and seek refuge with Allaah from its evil, then it will not harm him.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3118; Muslim, 2261).

(b) It was reported from Jaabir that the Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If any one of you sees a dream that he dislikes, let him spit drily to his left three time, and seek refuge with Allaah from the Shaytaan three times, and change the side on which he was sleeping.” (narrated by Muslim, 2262).

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If any one of you sees something that he dislikes (in a dream), let him get up and pray, and not tell people about it.’” (narrated by Muslim, 2263) If the Muslim follows this advice given by the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), before he goes to bed, it is hoped that no shaytaan will come anywhere near him, and if he follows this advice when he wakes up from a bad dream, it will take away all anxiety and distress from him.

The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to sleep on his right side, putting his right hand on his right cheek, and this is what the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) recommended others to do. According to a saheeh hadeeth narrated from al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib, the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When you go to bed, do wudoo’ as if for prayer, then lie down on your right side…” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, al-Wudoo’, 239). The Sunnah is to put one’s right hand under one’s cheek. It was narrated that Hudhayfah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said, “When the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went to bed at night, he would put his hand under his cheek, then say, ‘Allaahumma bismika amootu wa ahyaa (O Allaah, in Your name I die and I live).’ Then when he woke up he would say, ‘Al-hamdu Lillaah alladhi ahyaanaa ba’da ma amaatanaa wa ilayhi al-nushoor (Praise be to Allaah who has brought us back to life after causing us to die, and to Him is the resurrection).’” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6314).

This indicates that sleeping on one’s right side is Sunnah, and if a person does that to follow the example of the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), he will be rewarded for that. Sleeping on one’s left side is permitted, but one misses out on the reward for following the Sunnah. And Allaah knows best.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to sleep sometimes on a mattress, sometimes on a leather mat, sometimes on a mat made of palm leaves, sometimes on the floor, sometimes on a bed, sometimes on the sand, and sometimes on a black cloak.

He used to put his hands together and blow into them, then recite Qul Huwa Allaahu ahad, Qul a’oodhu bi Rabb il-Falaq and Qul a’oodhu bi Rabb il-Naas [i.e., the last three soorahs of the Qur’aan), then he would wipe his hands over as much of his body as he could, starting with his head and face, and the front part of his body. He would do that three times.

And when he went to bed he used to say: “Al-hamdu Lillaah alladhi at’amanaa wa saqaanaa wa kafaanaa wa aawanaa fakam mimman laa kaafi lahu wa laa mu’wi (All praise is for Allaah, Who fed us and gave us to drink, and Who is sufficient for us and has sheltered us, for how many have none to suffice them or shelter them).” This was narrated by Muslim, who also narrated that he used to say when he went to bed:

“Allaahumma Rabb al-samawaati wa’l-ard wa Rabb al-‘arsh il-‘azeem, Rabbaanaa wa Rabba kulli shay’in, Faaliq al-habb wa’l-nawa wa munzil al-Tawraati wa’l-Injeeli wa’l-Furqaan, a’oodhu bika min sharri kulli shay’in anta aakhidhun bi naasiyatihi. Allaahumma anta al-awwal fa laysa qablaka shay’un, wa anta al-aakhir fa laysa ba’daka shay’un, wa anta al-zaahir fa laysa fawqaka shay’un wa anta al-baatin fa laysa doonaka shay’un. Iqdi ‘annaa al-dayna wa aghninaa min al-faqri (O Allaah, Lord of the seven heavens and the exalted Throne, our Lord and Lord of all things, splitter of the seed and the date-stone, Revealer of the Tawraat and the Injeel and the Furqaan [Qur’aan], I seek refuge in You from the evil of all things You shall seize by the forelock [have total mastery over]. O Allaah, You are the First so there is nothing before You, and You are the Last so there is nothing after You. You are al-Zaahir [the greatest and highest] so there is nothing above You, and You are al-Baatin [aware of the subtlest secrets] so there is nothing closer than You. Settle our debt for us and spare us from poverty).” (Narrated by Muslim)

When he woke up from sleep he would say: “Al-hamdu Lillaah alladhi ahyaana ba’d ma amaatana wa ilayhi al-nushoor (Praise be to Allaah Who has brought us back to life after causing us to die, and unto Him is the resurrection).” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6312). Then he would clean his teeth using the miswaak, and recite the last ten aayahs from Soorat Aal ‘Imraan, from the verse (interpretation of the meaning):

And he would say: “Allaahumma laka al-hamd anta noor al-samawaati wa’l-ard wa man fihinna, wa laka al-hamd anta qayyim ul-samaawaati wa’l-ard wa man fihinna, wa laka al-hamd anta al-haqq wa wa’duka al-haqq wa liqaa’uka haqq wa’l-jannatu haqq wa’l-naaru haqq wa’l-nabiyoona haqq wa Muhammadun haqq wa’l-saa’atu haqq. Allaahumma laka aslamtu wa bika aamantu wa ‘alayka tawakkaltu wa ilayka anabtu wa bika khaasamtu wa ilayka haakamtu faghfir li ma qaddamutu wa ma akhartu wa ma asrartu wa ma a’lantu anta ilaahi laa ilaaha illa anta (O Allaah, to You be praise, You are the Light of the heavens and the earth and everyone in them. To You be praise, You are the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and everyone in them. To You be praise, You are the Truth (al-Haqq), Your promise is true, the meeting with You is true, Paradise is true, Hell is true, the Prophets are true, Muhammad is true and the Hour is true. O Allaah, to You I submit myself, in You I believe, in You I put my trust, to You I repent, by Your help I strive (against Your enemies) and to You I refer for judgement, so forgive me my past and future sins, what I do in secret and what I do openly. You are my God and there is no god but You).” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1120).

He used to sleep during the first part of the night and get up to pray during the last part. Sometimes he would stay up late to deal with the interests of the Muslims. His eyes slept but his heart did not. When he slept, they would not wake him up; he would be the one to wake up.

There is nothing to say that this is not allowed, but some of the scholars regarded it as makrooh (disliked) to stretch the feet out towards the Ka’bah if one is close to it; they regarded this as makrooh but not emphatically so. But if there is a mosque somewhere else and there is a Muslim there who points his feet towards the qiblah, there is no harm in that and he is not doing anything forbidden in sha Allaah, as the scholars stated. And Allaah knows best. See Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Humayd, p. 144

Al-Nawawi said: if a person has wudoo’, that is sufficient for him, because the point is to go to sleep having wudoo’, lest he die in his sleep, and so that he dreams will be more true, and so that the Shaytaan will be less likely to play with his dreams and terrify him.

The ‘awrah must be covered in all circumstances except when necessary, such as when bathing, having intercourse, relieving oneself, etc. But when there is no reason, the ‘awrah must be covered, because of the report narrated by Bahz ibn Hakeem from his father, from his grandfather, who said: “O Messenger of Allaah, what should we do about our ‘awrahs?” He said, “Guard you ‘awrah except from your wives and those whom your right hand possesses (concubines).” He asked, “What about when a man is with another man?” He said, “If you can manage not to let anyone see it, then do that.” He asked, “What if one of us is alone?’ He said, “Allaah is more deserving that you should feel shy before Him.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2769, and others).

Based on the above, it is not permissible for you to sleep with no clothes on that would cover your ‘awrah, whether you are sleeping with or without your wife. Rather it is permissible for you to uncover your ‘awrah only at times of necessity. And Allaah knows best.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “There is no sin on a person if he sleep with his feet towards the Ka’bah, rather the fuqaha’ (may Allaah have mercy on them) said: if a sick person cannot stand or sit, he should pray lying on his side with his face towards the qiblah, and if he cannot then he should pray on his back with his feet towards the qiblah.” Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 2/976 And Allaah knows best.